loopholeunsegun is a perfectly good way to go forward. >> we hear the nra described as powerful and influential. just how powerful? did in tnewtown change the dynamic? >> they will continue. there is a shorthand used with the nra. americans to support second amendment rights do so because the nra tells them to. the nra is interested in building their membership. they are not dictating thought to people. people care about their guns. there is a component that goes on between the nra and lawmakers. that relationship is more nuanced than is often portrayed. i would think the nra would push back on any attempt to renew an assault weapons ban. they have been more silent on the background check. >> thankx÷÷÷÷ you both for your questions and being with us on "newsmakers" today. host: caller: [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] blacks and about 85 minutes -- >> and about 85 minutes sheet justice roberts will issue the oath of office. it will take place tomorrow too much more public pomp and ceremony. the present one of sev

asperger's syndrome. that is why i talk a little funny. why has nobody and the nra, i can understand why they have been silent about this, have background checks for mental illness or the family members of a person trying to get a gun permit? i would recommend the personality test for young adults try to get a gun permit or grandparents if they have small children in the home and have lots of forgetfulness, the way i do, to take the bullets out and lock the gun cabinets. host: what is the question? caller: about background checks for mental illness, doing what we can to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill, except possibly return and -- returning veterans with post- traumatic stress disorder. on that, i will agree with conservatives. host: we will leave it there. guest: we have rules right now with regard to a mental illness. people object to having their names put on lists. there are privacy issues. a lot of people in the mental illness community object to having these type of lists. the aclu and others have sued when people have tried to put these things together. i think

attract bipartisan support but we know there are groups like the nra out there that organize very effectively. you hear from members of congress, well, i might vote for it but i'm concerned about what the nra would do. well, if the nra has 4 million members, this organization will have many more than 10 million members organizing out there, showing support in these congressional districts across the country and it's very important in passing some of this legislation. >> that's an interesting test. let's see if you can transfer that organization into something that helps you in the second term. >> ben, good to see you. >> thanks for having me. >> now, when you go to the balls, what do you wear? do you wear a tux? >> you know, i haven't been to a ball. i went to the mtv ball when bill clinton was elected president. >> that must have been a fun one. >> it was a hoot. it was a fun time. mike mccory was working with a group that was organizing that and got me a ticket and i wore a tux. >> people dress up for this. >> still fits. >> and that is something to really be proud of. good for

know, in a sense, he bypasses special interest groups like the nra and goes directly to the people. you know , otherwise, we are always in a sense, outgunned by these special interest groups, i has managed to talk directly to the people, get the pulse of the country. that's what got him re-elected. every prediction was, you know, there's too much money, too many special interest groups. the republicans are going to win. he went directly to the people through his technology, through the media, when he talked about fairness, he says either we increased access for everyone or we increased access for 2%. it was reasonable. it was sober, it was common sense it appealed to everyone. so i think that president obama will stay true to his doctrine of fairness and that's what 98% of our country wants. >> deepak chopra, thank you for coming on, enjoy the inauguration. >> thank you, don. >>> president obama's rescue of the american auto industry put our next guest back to work. and this weekend, she is an invited guest at the inauguration. meet the 5-passenger ford c-max hybrid. when you're ca

know what the answer is, but i know that most americans, republicans, nra members, agree with the very basic answers, which are the magazines and the automatic weapons and so on. but we are very, very impassioned people who believe the second amendment is a bible. one more quick point. two different versions of the second amendment were passed. one passed by congress had a capital letter for state and militia. the one passed by the state had a lower case. so it was a compromise right from the beginning. two very different interm tashzs of what that second amendment means. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> there are two designers anxiously awaiting to see whether michelle obama wore his or her dress tonight. she had about 15 designers who send her designs. >> it will be an american designer. >> they do not know who it will be, and they will see when the world sees. the president and the first lady will be hitting the dance floor for the first dance in a couple hours. first, beyonce today with an absolutely beautiful -- >> that was the best rendition of the national anthem i have

slayer. the nra, grover norquist, karl rove, we used to quiver in fear just the names. he has been able to put them in check. that is a big accomplishment on the political side. big disappointment. climate. when you have sandy come through and do what it did to new york city and you have a dust ball forming in our heartland and wildfires and no action on climate. that is a big disappointment. he has to do something. he has a rainbow coalition but a green stripe that has not been attended to. >> you know, anderson, what's interesting to me about what alex said is that the republican party is now at a 26% approval rating. that's not good. while the public is much more pessimistic than it was four years ago about president obama, the republican party has to do something. this works for the president. the republican party is divided. maybe he can pick off a bunch of republicans and, so, as he heads into his second term, he has a very, very big agenda, very ambitious, maybe overreaching a little bit, but it's in the republican self-interest to work with him. as we look ahead, you're mak

right because the nra wants it. >> they want it. the president -- >> what do you think of that, reverend? do you want a guy standing there with a pistol or a rifle for 30 years? >> i don't support putting police in schools. i think there's a lot of reasons that you don't but i think that the way that they did it that kept a lot of progressives from screaming is they said, it's the option of the school district and then you've got to go in the school district and organize against it. i think that's the way it was dealt with. but i want to say in terms of the immigration, an aside from that issue, the most emotional moment i saw today other than some of the things the president said was when justice sotomayor stepped up to swear in biden. because i was sitting there and you could feel the whole latino community rise up and everybody stood up clapping. >> biden for president. >> i was able to talk to her afterwards. that was a very emotional and historic moment, the first time in history that we have seen a hispanic swear-in the president -- i mean, the vice president. or even par

little bit. this is something the president has said should be left to the schools, the nra says should be part of a national plan. it will be interesting given the poll numbers. the entrenched interests in washington not on the president's side. we'll see what he does there. one other thing i want to note. the president talked about how immigrants in this country should be allowed to go to school and then become the leaders of the next generation, not be deported. well, remember, it was his administration, this is the bush administration here, deportations of illegal immigrants, it was the obama administration that angered many latinos, and especially latino interest groups by increasing the number of deportations. the president is hoping now that this actually gives him some credibility as he tries to negotiate an immigration reform package with republicans. and anderson, one of the things we have seen since the election is the republicans know the math. they see the demographics of this country. they realize they have a crisis. they cannot be a viable national party if they keep gett